title: Writing about life goals: effects on rumination, mood and the cortisol awakening response.
abstract: Rumination is a vulnerability factor for the onset and maintenance of emotional distress. This study examined whether writing about life goals is associated with a decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response. 68 healthy participants either wrote about their personal life goals or a control topic. Writing about life goals was associated with a modest decrease in ruminative thinking and a reduced cortisol awakening response at the post-intervention assessment. Results provide initial evidence that writing about life goals can be a helpful aid in decreasing rumination and physiological stress reactivity.
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany tobias.teismann@rub.de.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Teismann
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Het
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grillenberger
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Willutzki
authors.affiliation: Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver T
authors.initials: OT
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D003863:Depression / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D012463:Saliva / Q000737:chemistry; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014956:Writing; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: cortisol awakening response; personal goals; positive writing; rumination; stress